As a contractor, my tools are usually dropped, fall off roofs and ladders, have heavy things fall on them, get left out in the rain, get stolen, misplaced and about 10 other things occur before I have to worry about warranty issues.

However, I bought a pair of ultra compact 12v Li drills about 4 or 5 years ago when they first came out. I bought them to use on my kitchen work as they work great to drive tiny hinge screws, drill the holes for pulls, and they are just dandy inside a cabinet when replacing or adjusting drawer hardware. Both we $99 with on battery each, and a charger. They are fine little drills.

But the batteries finally died. I took the to the local HD as instructed and had a really bad time. The "tool guy" had to look at them, make his determination, write a report on his findings and then make a suggestion as to what repairs MIGHT be authorized. He told me that it could take him a month in the store to get to them, and if they were found to be in warranty, it could take another month to have it certified by the national repair depot, and then if it was the batteries ONLY, then they could possibly ship new ones to me in another 10 days to 2 weeks after that. So the whole process could take as much as 2 1/2 months! I was shocked. The tool guy did a cursory inspection and agreed that when new batteries were put in the old drills they both worked fine. When the old batteries were put in a new test charger, they showed as defective. However, he determined the issue needed more research on his part. (Clever man... I thought for a moment I was at the monkey cage at the zoo...)

I called the national number to tell them what was going on. They told me that they were tired of being blamed for the long wait times for warranty resolution and they were more tired of people calling to yell at them for store related issues. With their help they told me how and what to say (their corporate buzz words) to the store manager to get the project off center. It worked!

From start to finish of this episode I had two new batteries in my hands in 3 1/2 weeks. But I wasn't through.

The batteries came with a stern warning to register them within 90 days or there would be no further battery warranty. I tried several times to register, and then contacted them by email as instructed on their website. They didn't realize that you couldn't access their registration screens after the tool and its parts were registered. The reason was that anyone could change their serial numbers to tools found in pawn shops, etc. without having bought the tool new. So my CS email response was for me to simply go the website and register.

After a while, I gave up and called national customer service again. They lady on the other end of the phone sighed pretty heavily and told me that I couldn't register them myself and a phone call was required. On a previously registered tool only Ridgid CS could modify any information. So today, she took my info over the phone and my account was updated within the half hour.

So the moral is, register the tools correctly, know that they will honor their warranty in some cases, and know you will have to work for it as well as be patient. That being said, HD/Ridgid are the only guys that will warrant tools for more than a few months (most not at all) for contractor use.

Hey... at least it worked, and I have my two favorite mini drills back!

Robert

wrote:
So the moral is, register the tools correctly, know that they will honor their warranty in some cases, and know you will have to work for it as well as be patient. That being said, HD/Ridgid are the only guys that will warrant tools for more than a few months (most not at all) for contractor use.

Hey... at least it worked, and I have my two favorite mini drills back!

Robert

I'm glad it worked out for you!

Bill

wrote:

So the moral is, register the tools correctly, know that they will
honor their warranty in some cases, and know you will have to work
for it as well as be patient. That being said, HD/Ridgid are the
only guys that will warrant tools for more than a few months (most
not at all) for contractor use.

Hey... at least it worked, and I have my two favorite mini drills
back!
--------------------------------------------------
Since you have learned how long it takes to get a warranty
claim resolved, a suggestion.

Next time they have a sale buy a spare unit complete with
batteries and stash the whole thing behind a box of your
favorite stogies.

That way, you're covered when a primary unit craps out and you
need to stay in production.

SFWIW, that's what I did when I bought an 18VDC, H/F unit.

A spare battery was going to be about $13-$14 and a complete
unit was less than $17.

It was a no brainer.

Have fun.

Lew

On Tuesday, March 10, 2015 at 12:07:12 AM UTC-5, Lew Hodgett wrote:

--------------------------------------------------
Since you have learned how long it takes to get a warranty
claim resolved, a suggestion.

Next time they have a sale buy a spare unit complete with
batteries and stash the whole thing behind a box of your
favorite stogies.

Well, if I put it by my favorite stogies, I certainly wouldn't misplace them! Sadly, they don't put the Ridgid brand name on sale unless they have a new model of a tool, or a they are introducing a new tool.

Their tools used to be a bit less expensive than the brands like DeWalt, Makita and Bosch, but no longer so. But those guys can't touch the Ridgid warranty, so at their price they make the Ridgid brand a good deal. I have a 4" pad sander, and two 5" ROS machines I can't kill. Those 5" sander have ground down several hundred feet of fascia to prepare them for painting. Put that 60 grit pad on then and you make short work of chipping paint.


That way, you're covered when a primary unit craps out and you
need to stay in production.

Whereas I bought my two drills with two batteries for $99 with a charger, they sell the drill kit with one battery and the charger (just one drill, I got a pair with two batteries) for $99.

SFWIW, that's what I did when I bought an 18VDC, H/F unit.

A spare battery was going to be about $13-$14 and a complete
unit was less than $17.

It was a no brainer.

I remember when you were talking about the HF drill here. Buying a second one made perfect sense. If the drill quits, you have another, and likewise with the battery. How do you like the HF drill? Get good service from it?

Robert

wrote in message
...

I called the national number to tell them what was going on. They told me
that they were tired of being blamed for the long wait times for warranty
resolution and they were more tired of people calling to yell at them for
store related issues. With their help they told me how and what to say
(their corporate buzz words) to the store manager to get the project off
center. It worked!

And those magic words were...?? Did they include "straight razor" and
"cojones"?

Hey... at least it worked, and I have my two favorite mini drills back!

I'm glad your problems were resolved. Is the store manager still intact?


--

dadiOH
____________________________

Winters getting colder? Tired of the rat race?
Taxes out of hand? Maybe just ready for a change?
Check it out... http://www.floridaloghouse.net

" wrote:
As a contractor, my tools are usually dropped, fall off roofs and
ladders, have heavy things fall on them, get left out in the rain, get
stolen, misplaced and about 10 other things occur before I have to worry
about warranty issues.

However, I bought a pair of ultra compact 12v Li drills about 4 or 5
years ago when they first came out. I bought them to use on my kitchen
work as they work great to drive tiny hinge screws, drill the holes for
pulls, and they are just dandy inside a cabinet when replacing or
adjusting drawer hardware. Both we $99 with on battery each, and a
charger. They are fine little drills.

But the batteries finally died. I took the to the local HD as instructed
and had a really bad time. The "tool guy" had to look at them, make his
determination, write a report on his findings and then make a suggestion
as to what repairs MIGHT be authorized. He told me that it could take
him a month in the store to get to them, and if they were found to be in
warranty, it could take another month to have it certified by the
national repair depot, and then if it was the batteries ONLY, then they
could possibly ship new ones to me in another 10 days to 2 weeks after
that. So the whole process could take as much as 2 1/2 months! I was
shocked. The tool guy did a cursory inspection and agreed that when new
batteries were put in the old drills they both worked fine. When the old
batteries were put in a new test charger, they showed as defective.
However, he determined the issue needed more research on his part.
(Clever man... I thought for a moment I was at the monkey cage at the zoo...)

I called the national number to tell them what was going on. They told
me that they were tired of being blamed for the long wait times for
warranty resolution and they were more tired of people calling to yell at
them for store related issues. With their help they told me how and what
to say (their corporate buzz words) to the store manager to get the
project off center. It worked!

From start to finish of this episode I had two new batteries in my hands
in 3 1/2 weeks. But I wasn't through.

The batteries came with a stern warning to register them within 90 days
or there would be no further battery warranty. I tried several times to
register, and then contacted them by email as instructed on their
website. They didn't realize that you couldn't access their registration
screens after the tool and its parts were registered. The reason was
that anyone could change their serial numbers to tools found in pawn
shops, etc. without having bought the tool new. So my CS email response
was for me to simply go the website and register.

After a while, I gave up and called national customer service again.
They lady on the other end of the phone sighed pretty heavily and told me
that I couldn't register them myself and a phone call was required. On a
previously registered tool only Ridgid CS could modify any information.
So today, she took my info over the phone and my account was updated within the half hour.

So the moral is, register the tools correctly, know that they will honor
their warranty in some cases, and know you will have to work for it as
well as be patient. That being said, HD/Ridgid are the only guys that
will warrant tools for more than a few months (most not at all) for contractor use.

Hey... at least it worked, and I have my two favorite mini drills back!

Robert

It is nice that the warranty is a life time one but a shame that they
discourage you to use it. This is not the first time that I have heard
this review of the process, I double checked your post date to make sure it
was not an old review that I have read that resurfaced.
I do believe that Festool would probably warrant their original batteries
for 3 years, even with contractor use. Unfortunately Festool does not
warrant against loss or theft. :-(

wrote:

I remember when you were talking about the HF drill here. Buying a
second one made perfect sense. If the drill quits, you have another,
and likewise with the battery. How do you like the HF drill? Get
good service from it?
--------------------------------------------------------
Right now those drills are functioning as a set of matched
bookends.

Will try cleaning the grill with a synthetic brush in a few weeks.

Lew

On Tuesday, March 10, 2015 at 12:32:46 AM UTC-4, wrote:
As a contractor, my tools are usually dropped, fall off roofs and ladders, have heavy things fall on them, get left out in the rain, get stolen, misplaced and about 10 other things occur before I have to worry about warranty issues.

However, I bought a pair of ultra compact 12v Li drills about 4 or 5 years ago when they first came out. I bought them to use on my kitchen work as they work great to drive tiny hinge screws, drill the holes for pulls, and they are just dandy inside a cabinet when replacing or adjusting drawer hardware. Both we $99 with on battery each, and a charger. They are fine little drills.

But the batteries finally died. I took the to the local HD as instructed and had a really bad time. The "tool guy" had to look at them, make his determination, write a report on his findings and then make a suggestion as to what repairs MIGHT be authorized. He told me that it could take him a month in the store to get to them, and if they were found to be in warranty, it could take another month to have it certified by the national repair depot, and then if it was the batteries ONLY, then they could possibly ship new ones to me in another 10 days to 2 weeks after that. So the whole process could take as much as 2 1/2 months! I was shocked. The tool guy did a cursory inspection and agreed that when new batteries were put in the old drills they both worked fine. When the old batteries were put in a new test charger, they showed as defective. However, he determined the issue needed more research on his part. (Clever man... I thought for a moment I was at the monkey cage at the zoo...)

I called the national number to tell them what was going on. They told me that they were tired of being blamed for the long wait times for warranty resolution and they were more tired of people calling to yell at them for store related issues. With their help they told me how and what to say (their corporate buzz words) to the store manager to get the project off center. It worked!

From start to finish of this episode I had two new batteries in my hands in 3 1/2 weeks. But I wasn't through.

The batteries came with a stern warning to register them within 90 days or there would be no further battery warranty. I tried several times to register, and then contacted them by email as instructed on their website. They didn't realize that you couldn't access their registration screens after the tool and its parts were registered. The reason was that anyone could change their serial numbers to tools found in pawn shops, etc. without having bought the tool new. So my CS email response was for me to simply go the website and register.

After a while, I gave up and called national customer service again. They lady on the other end of the phone sighed pretty heavily and told me that I couldn't register them myself and a phone call was required. On a previously registered tool only Ridgid CS could modify any information. So today, she took my info over the phone and my account was updated within the half hour.

So the moral is, register the tools correctly, know that they will honor their warranty in some cases, and know you will have to work for it as well as be patient. That being said, HD/Ridgid are the only guys that will warrant tools for more than a few months (most not at all) for contractor use.

Hey... at least it worked, and I have my two favorite mini drills back!

Robert

As long as we are propping up Home Depot...

A few weeks ago I went to a local HD and parked in a spot where there were no other vehicles or carts or anything nearby. When I came out I saw that one of these carts was about 3" from the driver's side fender.

http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4109/5...44d28f7e_z.jpg

After closer inspection I found a small dent and some orange paint on my fender, at the exact height of the corner of the cart.

I went inside, found a manager, and asked him to come outside. He looked at the situation and told me that he would file a report. He noted that 90% of parking lot damage claims are denied, but this one looked like a no brainer and that he would say so in his report.

About 2 weeks later I got a call from some firm representing Home Depot and was asked a few questions about the incident. They promised to get back to me in a few days, which they did. It is now my responsibility to submit 2 estimates to have the damage repaired. The representative promised that Home Depot will pay the lower of the 2 estimates.

My plan is to go to 2 dealer body shops, where I assume I will get the highest estimates.

On 3/10/2015 2:45 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Tuesday, March 10, 2015 at 12:32:46 AM UTC-4, wrote:
As a contractor, my tools are usually dropped, fall off roofs and ladders, have heavy things fall on them, get left out in the rain, get stolen, misplaced and about 10 other things occur before I have to worry about warranty issues.

However, I bought a pair of ultra compact 12v Li drills about 4 or 5 years ago when they first came out. I bought them to use on my kitchen work as they work great to drive tiny hinge screws, drill the holes for pulls, and they are just dandy inside a cabinet when replacing or adjusting drawer hardware. Both we $99 with on battery each, and a charger. They are fine little drills.

But the batteries finally died. I took the to the local HD as instructed and had a really bad time. The "tool guy" had to look at them, make his determination, write a report on his findings and then make a suggestion as to what repairs MIGHT be authorized. He told me that it could take him a month in the store to get to them, and if they were found to be in warranty, it could take another month to have it certified by the national repair depot, and then if it was the batteries ONLY, then they could possibly ship new ones to me in another 10 days to 2 weeks after that. So the whole process could take as much as 2 1/2 months! I was shocked. The tool guy did a cursory inspection and agreed that when new batteries were put in the old drills they both worked fine. When the old batteries were put in a new test charger, they showed as defective. However, he determined the issue needed more research on his part. (Clever man... I thought for a moment I was at the monkey cage at t
he zoo...)

I called the national number to tell them what was going on. They told me that they were tired of being blamed for the long wait times for warranty resolution and they were more tired of people calling to yell at them for store related issues. With their help they told me how and what to say (their corporate buzz words) to the store manager to get the project off center. It worked!

From start to finish of this episode I had two new batteries in my hands in 3 1/2 weeks. But I wasn't through.

The batteries came with a stern warning to register them within 90 days or there would be no further battery warranty. I tried several times to register, and then contacted them by email as instructed on their website. They didn't realize that you couldn't access their registration screens after the tool and its parts were registered. The reason was that anyone could change their serial numbers to tools found in pawn shops, etc. without having bought the tool new. So my CS email response was for me to simply go the website and register.

After a while, I gave up and called national customer service again. They lady on the other end of the phone sighed pretty heavily and told me that I couldn't register them myself and a phone call was required. On a previously registered tool only Ridgid CS could modify any information. So today, she took my info over the phone and my account was updated within the half hour.

So the moral is, register the tools correctly, know that they will honor their warranty in some cases, and know you will have to work for it as well as be patient. That being said, HD/Ridgid are the only guys that will warrant tools for more than a few months (most not at all) for contractor use.

Hey... at least it worked, and I have my two favorite mini drills back!

Robert

As long as we are propping up Home Depot...

A few weeks ago I went to a local HD and parked in a spot where there were no other vehicles or carts or anything nearby. When I came out I saw that one of these carts was about 3" from the driver's side fender.

http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4109/5...44d28f7e_z.jpg

After closer inspection I found a small dent and some orange paint on my fender, at the exact height of the corner of the cart.

I went inside, found a manager, and asked him to come outside. He looked at the situation and told me that he would file a report. He noted that 90% of parking lot damage claims are denied, but this one looked like a no brainer and that he would say so in his report.

About 2 weeks later I got a call from some firm representing Home Depot and was asked a few questions about the incident. They promised to get back to me in a few days, which they did. It is now my responsibility to submit 2 estimates to have the damage repaired. The representative promised that Home Depot will pay the lower of the 2 estimates.

My plan is to go to 2 dealer body shops, where I assume I will get the highest estimates.

Don't assume the dealer body shop will be the higher estimate. Most all
body shops are governed by what the insurance companies are willing to
pay so they compete in that regard. If you intend to actually use the
money to repair the dent you want to get the estimates from the body
shops with the best reputations.

On Tuesday, March 10, 2015 at 4:06:34 PM UTC-4, Leon wrote:
On 3/10/2015 2:45 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Tuesday, March 10, 2015 at 12:32:46 AM UTC-4, wrote:
As a contractor, my tools are usually dropped, fall off roofs and ladders, have heavy things fall on them, get left out in the rain, get stolen, misplaced and about 10 other things occur before I have to worry about warranty issues.

However, I bought a pair of ultra compact 12v Li drills about 4 or 5 years ago when they first came out. I bought them to use on my kitchen work as they work great to drive tiny hinge screws, drill the holes for pulls, and they are just dandy inside a cabinet when replacing or adjusting drawer hardware. Both we $99 with on battery each, and a charger. They are fine little drills.

But the batteries finally died. I took the to the local HD as instructed and had a really bad time. The "tool guy" had to look at them, make his determination, write a report on his findings and then make a suggestion as to what repairs MIGHT be authorized. He told me that it could take him a month in the store to get to them, and if they were found to be in warranty, it could take another month to have it certified by the national repair depot, and then if it was the batteries ONLY, then they could possibly ship new ones to me in another 10 days to 2 weeks after that. So the whole process could take as much as 2 1/2 months! I was shocked. The tool guy did a cursory inspection and agreed that when new batteries were put in the old drills they both worked fine. When the old batteries were put in a new test charger, they showed as defective. However, he determined the issue needed more research on his part. (Clever man... I thought for a moment I was at the monkey cage at t
he zoo...)

I called the national number to tell them what was going on. They told me that they were tired of being blamed for the long wait times for warranty resolution and they were more tired of people calling to yell at them for store related issues. With their help they told me how and what to say (their corporate buzz words) to the store manager to get the project off center. It worked!

From start to finish of this episode I had two new batteries in my hands in 3 1/2 weeks. But I wasn't through.

The batteries came with a stern warning to register them within 90 days or there would be no further battery warranty. I tried several times to register, and then contacted them by email as instructed on their website. They didn't realize that you couldn't access their registration screens after the tool and its parts were registered. The reason was that anyone could change their serial numbers to tools found in pawn shops, etc. without having bought the tool new. So my CS email response was for me to simply go the website and register.

After a while, I gave up and called national customer service again. They lady on the other end of the phone sighed pretty heavily and told me that I couldn't register them myself and a phone call was required. On a previously registered tool only Ridgid CS could modify any information. So today, she took my info over the phone and my account was updated within the half hour.

So the moral is, register the tools correctly, know that they will honor their warranty in some cases, and know you will have to work for it as well as be patient. That being said, HD/Ridgid are the only guys that will warrant tools for more than a few months (most not at all) for contractor use.

Hey... at least it worked, and I have my two favorite mini drills back!

Robert

As long as we are propping up Home Depot...

A few weeks ago I went to a local HD and parked in a spot where there were no other vehicles or carts or anything nearby. When I came out I saw that one of these carts was about 3" from the driver's side fender.

http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4109/5...44d28f7e_z.jpg

After closer inspection I found a small dent and some orange paint on my fender, at the exact height of the corner of the cart.

I went inside, found a manager, and asked him to come outside. He looked at the situation and told me that he would file a report. He noted that 90% of parking lot damage claims are denied, but this one looked like a no brainer and that he would say so in his report.

About 2 weeks later I got a call from some firm representing Home Depot and was asked a few questions about the incident. They promised to get back to me in a few days, which they did. It is now my responsibility to submit 2 estimates to have the damage repaired. The representative promised that Home Depot will pay the lower of the 2 estimates.

My plan is to go to 2 dealer body shops, where I assume I will get the highest estimates.

Don't assume the dealer body shop will be the higher estimate. Most all
body shops are governed by what the insurance companies are willing to
pay so they compete in that regard. If you intend to actually use the
money to repair the dent you want to get the estimates from the body
shops with the best reputations.

I'll let you know what they say...I'll be getting more than 2 estimates anyway.

On Tuesday, March 10, 2015 at 2:35:54 PM UTC-5, Lew Hodgett wrote:
wrote:

I remember when you were talking about the HF drill here. Buying a
second one made perfect sense. If the drill quits, you have another,
and likewise with the battery. How do you like the HF drill? Get
good service from it?
--------------------------------------------------------
Right now those drills are functioning as a set of matched
bookends.

Will try cleaning the grill with a synthetic brush in a few weeks.

Lew

Well, that's good to hear. As has been discussed/cussed here, in my opinion it seems that the quality of HF tools is going up and the quality of the rest of the guys is going down. I don't see how you could beat the drill deal that you got. Looking forward to what you have to say after putting it to the test cleaning your grill.

Robert

On Tuesday, March 10, 2015 at 6:32:09 AM UTC-5, dadiOH wrote:
wrote in message
...

I called the national number to tell them what was going on. They told me
that they were tired of being blamed for the long wait times for warranty
resolution and they were more tired of people calling to yell at them for
store related issues. With their help they told me how and what to say
(their corporate buzz words) to the store manager to get the project off
center. It worked!

And those magic words were...?? Did they include "straight razor" and
"cojones"?

Hey... at least it worked, and I have my two favorite mini drills back!

I'm glad your problems were resolved. Is the store manager still intact?

LOL, gotta chuckle out of that. I was quite nice to him actually. I told him that I knew he was new manager to the store with only 6 months under his belt and that I knew he had a lot to deal with tending to so many "problem" employees.

I told him what went on at the store, and he was fairly concerned. I then told him that I knew that a man as busy as he was sorting out his store wide problems might not have a chance to tend to my small one. So to take the problem off his back, I offered to call the national contractor's line in GA and tell them about our conversation, then go over the customer service issues in the store and we could see how they thought best to handle my drill problem.

That way (I theorized out loud), if they wanted to write up his customer service staff for lack of performance he wouldn't get any blame himself for forced employee discipline other than the fact that all store activity was his responsibility. I offered the idea that it was possible that since he had only been there six months they might give him a pass on his inability to get his employees to do their job properly. As an added note, I added that after a bit of consideration I thought contacting the national desk was the thing to do as they might be able to give him some much needed managerial guidance on his employees if they had the signal that they were a bit out of control.

After some thoughtful remarks from him, he assured me that he could take care of it himself on a local level and there was NO REASON AT ALL to call the national contractor desk. I told him... no problem at all on my part as I could call them on the way to the next job. In a way, I told him I thought that having me call might actually be doing him a favor as it could help corral some of his bad employees without getting his hands dirty. No favors wanted, needed, or requested he adamantly told me.

It was all pretty pleasant, really. But he actually looked pretty upset when I left. But a few days later, I had batteries on my front porch at my house. So I guess we all stayed friends. ;^)

Robert

wrote:


I told him what went on at the store, and he was fairly concerned. I
then told him that I knew that a man as busy as he was sorting out his
store wide problems might not have a chance to tend to my small one.
So to take the problem off his back, I offered to call the national
contractor's line in GA and tell them about our conversation, then go
over the customer service issues in the store and we could see how
they thought best to handle my drill problem.

That way (I theorized out loud), if they wanted to write up his
customer service staff for lack of performance he wouldn't get any
blame himself for forced employee discipline other than the fact that
all store activity was his responsibility. I offered the idea that it
was possible that since he had only been there six months they might
give him a pass on his inability to get his employees to do their job
properly. As an added note, I added that after a bit of consideration
I thought contacting the national desk was the thing to do as they
might be able to give him some much needed managerial guidance on his
employees if they had the signal that they were a bit out of control.

After some thoughtful remarks from him, he assured me that he could
take care of it himself on a local level and there was NO REASON AT
ALL to call the national contractor desk. I told him... no problem at
all on my part as I could call them on the way to the next job. In a
way, I told him I thought that having me call might actually be doing
him a favor as it could help corral some of his bad employees without
getting his hands dirty. No favors wanted, needed, or requested he
adamantly told me.

It was all pretty pleasant, really. But he actually looked pretty
upset when I left. But a few days later, I had batteries on my front
porch at my house. So I guess we all stayed friends. ;^)
-----------------------------------------------
You silvered tongue'd devil.

Bet you're still grinninG

Lew

wrote:
On Tuesday, March 10, 2015 at 6:32:09 AM UTC-5, dadiOH wrote:
wrote in message
...

I called the national number to tell them what was going on. They told me
that they were tired of being blamed for the long wait times for warranty
resolution and they were more tired of people calling to yell at them for
store related issues. With their help they told me how and what to say
(their corporate buzz words) to the store manager to get the project off
center. It worked!

And those magic words were...?? Did they include "straight razor" and
"cojones"?

Hey... at least it worked, and I have my two favorite mini drills back!

I'm glad your problems were resolved. Is the store manager still intact?
LOL, gotta chuckle out of that. I was quite nice to him actually. I told him that I knew he was new manager to the store with only 6 months under his belt and that I knew he had a lot to deal with tending to so many "problem" employees.

I told him what went on at the store, and he was fairly concerned. I then told him that I knew that a man as busy as he was sorting out his store wide problems might not have a chance to tend to my small one. So to take the problem off his back, I offered to call the national contractor's line in GA and tell them about our conversation, then go over the customer service issues in the store and we could see how they thought best to handle my drill problem.

That way (I theorized out loud), if they wanted to write up his customer service staff for lack of performance he wouldn't get any blame himself for forced employee discipline other than the fact that all store activity was his responsibility. I offered the idea that it was possible that since he had only been there six months they might give him a pass on his inability to get his employees to do their job properly. As an added note, I added that after a bit of consideration I thought contacting the national desk was the thing to do as they might be able to give him some much needed managerial guidance on his employees if they had the signal that they were a bit out of control.

After some thoughtful remarks from him, he assured me that he could take care of it himself on a local level and there was NO REASON AT ALL to call the national contractor desk. I told him... no problem at all on my part as I could call them on the way to the next job. In a way, I told him I thought that having me call might actually be doing him a favor as it could help corral some of his bad employees without getting his hands dirty. No favors wanted, needed, or requested he adamantly told me.

It was all pretty pleasant, really. But he actually looked pretty upset when I left. But a few days later, I had batteries on my front porch at my house. So I guess we all stayed friends. ;^)

Robert


Nice job! I once wrote a letter to Delta about one of their "Authorized
Online Dealers", and how they weren't living up to the promises made for
such dealers, and I got results that were nothing short of "amazing"
too. I think the page has been deleted (seriously).

On Wednesday, March 11, 2015 at 12:28:36 AM UTC-5, Lew Hodgett wrote:
wrote:


I told him what went on at the store, and he was fairly concerned. I
then told him that I knew that a man as busy as he was sorting out his
store wide problems might not have a chance to tend to my small one.
So to take the problem off his back, I offered to call the national
contractor's line in GA and tell them about our conversation, then go
over the customer service issues in the store and we could see how
they thought best to handle my drill problem.

That way (I theorized out loud), if they wanted to write up his
customer service staff for lack of performance he wouldn't get any
blame himself for forced employee discipline other than the fact that
all store activity was his responsibility. I offered the idea that it
was possible that since he had only been there six months they might
give him a pass on his inability to get his employees to do their job
properly. As an added note, I added that after a bit of consideration
I thought contacting the national desk was the thing to do as they
might be able to give him some much needed managerial guidance on his
employees if they had the signal that they were a bit out of control.

After some thoughtful remarks from him, he assured me that he could
take care of it himself on a local level and there was NO REASON AT
ALL to call the national contractor desk. I told him... no problem at
all on my part as I could call them on the way to the next job. In a
way, I told him I thought that having me call might actually be doing
him a favor as it could help corral some of his bad employees without
getting his hands dirty. No favors wanted, needed, or requested he
adamantly told me.

It was all pretty pleasant, really. But he actually looked pretty
upset when I left. But a few days later, I had batteries on my front
porch at my house. So I guess we all stayed friends. ;^)
-----------------------------------------------
You silvered tongue'd devil.

Bet you're still grinninG

Lew

Yeah... a little bit!

Years ago I got tired of being the only guy upset with my problems. This is a much better way for me to handle things to keep my blood pressure in check and have a bit of fun at the other guy's expense.

Robert

On 3/11/15 10:36 AM, wrote:
On Wednesday, March 11, 2015 at 12:28:36 AM UTC-5, Lew Hodgett wrote:
wrote:


I told him what went on at the store, and he was fairly concerned. I
then told him that I knew that a man as busy as he was sorting out his
store wide problems might not have a chance to tend to my small one.
So to take the problem off his back, I offered to call the national
contractor's line in GA and tell them about our conversation, then go
over the customer service issues in the store and we could see how
they thought best to handle my drill problem.

That way (I theorized out loud), if they wanted to write up his
customer service staff for lack of performance he wouldn't get any
blame himself for forced employee discipline other than the fact that
all store activity was his responsibility. I offered the idea that it
was possible that since he had only been there six months they might
give him a pass on his inability to get his employees to do their job
properly. As an added note, I added that after a bit of consideration
I thought contacting the national desk was the thing to do as they
might be able to give him some much needed managerial guidance on his
employees if they had the signal that they were a bit out of control.

After some thoughtful remarks from him, he assured me that he could
take care of it himself on a local level and there was NO REASON AT
ALL to call the national contractor desk. I told him... no problem at
all on my part as I could call them on the way to the next job. In a
way, I told him I thought that having me call might actually be doing
him a favor as it could help corral some of his bad employees without
getting his hands dirty. No favors wanted, needed, or requested he
adamantly told me.

It was all pretty pleasant, really. But he actually looked pretty
upset when I left. But a few days later, I had batteries on my front
porch at my house. So I guess we all stayed friends. ;^)
-----------------------------------------------
You silvered tongue'd devil.

Bet you're still grinninG

Lew

Yeah... a little bit!

Years ago I got tired of being the only guy upset with my problems. This is a much better way for me to handle things to keep my blood pressure in check and have a bit of fun at the other guy's expense.

Robert


This all makes me look very forward to whatever hoops I'll have to jump
through when my Ridgid batteries eventually crap out. :-)


--

-MIKE-

"Playing is not something I do at night, it's my function in life"
--Elvin Jones (1927-2004)
--
http://mikedrums.com

---remove "DOT" ^^^^ to reply

On 3/11/2015 10:36 AM, wrote:
On Wednesday, March 11, 2015 at 12:28:36 AM UTC-5, Lew Hodgett wrote:
wrote:


I told him what went on at the store, and he was fairly concerned. I
then told him that I knew that a man as busy as he was sorting out his
store wide problems might not have a chance to tend to my small one.
So to take the problem off his back, I offered to call the national
contractor's line in GA and tell them about our conversation, then go
over the customer service issues in the store and we could see how
they thought best to handle my drill problem.

That way (I theorized out loud), if they wanted to write up his
customer service staff for lack of performance he wouldn't get any
blame himself for forced employee discipline other than the fact that
all store activity was his responsibility. I offered the idea that it
was possible that since he had only been there six months they might
give him a pass on his inability to get his employees to do their job
properly. As an added note, I added that after a bit of consideration
I thought contacting the national desk was the thing to do as they
might be able to give him some much needed managerial guidance on his
employees if they had the signal that they were a bit out of control.

After some thoughtful remarks from him, he assured me that he could
take care of it himself on a local level and there was NO REASON AT
ALL to call the national contractor desk. I told him... no problem at
all on my part as I could call them on the way to the next job. In a
way, I told him I thought that having me call might actually be doing
him a favor as it could help corral some of his bad employees without
getting his hands dirty. No favors wanted, needed, or requested he
adamantly told me.

It was all pretty pleasant, really. But he actually looked pretty
upset when I left. But a few days later, I had batteries on my front
porch at my house. So I guess we all stayed friends. ;^)
-----------------------------------------------
You silvered tongue'd devil.

Bet you're still grinninG

Lew

Yeah... a little bit!

Years ago I got tired of being the only guy upset with my problems. This is a much better way for me to handle things to keep my blood pressure in check and have a bit of fun at the other guy's expense.

Robert


One thing nice with becoming older, you learn how to fineness the crowd
a bit better. ;~)

On Wednesday, March 11, 2015 at 1:52:07 PM UTC-5, Leon wrote:
..
One thing nice with becoming older, you learn how to fineness the crowd
a bit better. ;~)

True. And for me, I try to figure out the best way to handle these things without getting myself upset, ****ed off, and off the rail of concentrating on my jobs.

I try to always have a plan "B", and sometimes even "C" regardless of the situation. So in this case, rather than to have one of those nasty, loud cases of self righteous indignation, my plan was simple.

IF... if they were going to keep my drills for almost three months, I was resigned to that. So, I figured when I went to HD to get the replacement hinges I needed I would pick up a new drill, identical to my favorite. To be fair, I would wait until the very last minute which would have given them a couple of months to resolve the issue. I would use it for a couple of weeks as needed, then return it under their "satisfaction guarantee" policy.

Then I could comfortably wait for HD to get the new batteries to me with no stress on my end.

Certainly, age and experience pay off in a big way in these cases as I was only tense for about a day before I came up with plan "B". Once I had plan "B" (the drill purchase/return) then I decided to have some fun at the manager's expense.

It all works out in a much easier fashion for me these days than the old "thunder and lightening" days. Still, I don't always know when my cork is going to pop or what is going to do it, so I try to keep an eye on things and not let myself be put in a position where folks see me lose my composure. These days I would rather suck the lifeblood out of someone a pint at time and enjoy knowing they didn't push my buttons rather than to fire off a long string of profane descriptions of certain body parts being crudely inserted into other certain body parts.

And the results are actually a little better for the most part(not always)when I stay calm and figure the best approach.

Robert

On Tuesday, March 10, 2015 at 4:06:34 PM UTC-4, Leon wrote:
On 3/10/2015 2:45 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Tuesday, March 10, 2015 at 12:32:46 AM UTC-4, wrote:
As a contractor, my tools are usually dropped, fall off roofs and ladders, have heavy things fall on them, get left out in the rain, get stolen, misplaced and about 10 other things occur before I have to worry about warranty issues.

However, I bought a pair of ultra compact 12v Li drills about 4 or 5 years ago when they first came out. I bought them to use on my kitchen work as they work great to drive tiny hinge screws, drill the holes for pulls, and they are just dandy inside a cabinet when replacing or adjusting drawer hardware. Both we $99 with on battery each, and a charger. They are fine little drills.

But the batteries finally died. I took the to the local HD as instructed and had a really bad time. The "tool guy" had to look at them, make his determination, write a report on his findings and then make a suggestion as to what repairs MIGHT be authorized. He told me that it could take him a month in the store to get to them, and if they were found to be in warranty, it could take another month to have it certified by the national repair depot, and then if it was the batteries ONLY, then they could possibly ship new ones to me in another 10 days to 2 weeks after that. So the whole process could take as much as 2 1/2 months! I was shocked. The tool guy did a cursory inspection and agreed that when new batteries were put in the old drills they both worked fine. When the old batteries were put in a new test charger, they showed as defective. However, he determined the issue needed more research on his part. (Clever man... I thought for a moment I was at the monkey cage at t
he zoo...)

I called the national number to tell them what was going on. They told me that they were tired of being blamed for the long wait times for warranty resolution and they were more tired of people calling to yell at them for store related issues. With their help they told me how and what to say (their corporate buzz words) to the store manager to get the project off center. It worked!

From start to finish of this episode I had two new batteries in my hands in 3 1/2 weeks. But I wasn't through.

The batteries came with a stern warning to register them within 90 days or there would be no further battery warranty. I tried several times to register, and then contacted them by email as instructed on their website. They didn't realize that you couldn't access their registration screens after the tool and its parts were registered. The reason was that anyone could change their serial numbers to tools found in pawn shops, etc. without having bought the tool new. So my CS email response was for me to simply go the website and register.

After a while, I gave up and called national customer service again. They lady on the other end of the phone sighed pretty heavily and told me that I couldn't register them myself and a phone call was required. On a previously registered tool only Ridgid CS could modify any information. So today, she took my info over the phone and my account was updated within the half hour.

So the moral is, register the tools correctly, know that they will honor their warranty in some cases, and know you will have to work for it as well as be patient. That being said, HD/Ridgid are the only guys that will warrant tools for more than a few months (most not at all) for contractor use.

Hey... at least it worked, and I have my two favorite mini drills back!

Robert

As long as we are propping up Home Depot...

A few weeks ago I went to a local HD and parked in a spot where there were no other vehicles or carts or anything nearby. When I came out I saw that one of these carts was about 3" from the driver's side fender.

http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4109/5...44d28f7e_z.jpg

After closer inspection I found a small dent and some orange paint on my fender, at the exact height of the corner of the cart.

I went inside, found a manager, and asked him to come outside. He looked at the situation and told me that he would file a report. He noted that 90% of parking lot damage claims are denied, but this one looked like a no brainer and that he would say so in his report.

About 2 weeks later I got a call from some firm representing Home Depot and was asked a few questions about the incident. They promised to get back to me in a few days, which they did. It is now my responsibility to submit 2 estimates to have the damage repaired. The representative promised that Home Depot will pay the lower of the 2 estimates.

My plan is to go to 2 dealer body shops, where I assume I will get the highest estimates.

Don't assume the dealer body shop will be the higher estimate. Most all
body shops are governed by what the insurance companies are willing to
pay so they compete in that regard. If you intend to actually use the
money to repair the dent you want to get the estimates from the body
shops with the best reputations.

Here are the 6 estimates that I received for the fender damage that occurred in the Home Depot parking lot. The vehicle involved is a Honda Odyssey.

All collision shops were told the same 3 things:

- Damage occurred in a Home Depot parking lot
- Home Depot said to submit 2 estimates, they will pay the lower of the two
- The Home Depot Claims Department did not request, and does not have, pictures of the damage

$546 - Honda Dealer
$534 - Honda Dealer (See Note below)
$491 - Chevrolet Dealer
$485 - Local Collision Shop Chain (13 locations)
$479 - Independent Collision Shop
$456 - Independent Collision Shop

Note: The 2nd Honda dealer was the only collision shop to suggest the "paint-less repair" process to fix the damage. When I reminded him that it might be better for me if I was given an estimate for the more expensive old-school repair he said "Ah, get your lunch money first and then explore other options. No problem." He then provided an R&I repair estimate similar to all the rest.

I've just faxed the 2 Honda dealer estimates to Home Depot.

On 3/13/2015 2:58 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote:

All collision shops were told the same 3 things:

- Damage occurred in a Home Depot parking lot
- Home Depot said to submit 2 estimates, they will pay the lower of the two
- The Home Depot Claims Department did not request, and does not have, pictures of the damage

$546 - Honda Dealer
$534 - Honda Dealer (See Note below)
$491 - Chevrolet Dealer
$485 - Local Collision Shop Chain (13 locations)
$479 - Independent Collision Shop
$456 - Independent Collision Shop

Note: The 2nd Honda dealer was the only collision shop to suggest the "paint-less repair" process to fix the damage. When I reminded him that it might be better for me if I was given an estimate for the more expensive old-school repair he said "Ah, get your lunch money first and then explore other options. No problem." He then provided an R&I repair estimate similar to all the rest.

I've just faxed the 2 Honda dealer estimates to Home Depot.


Take the money and then take the car to the shop that you think will do
the best job. You can put $90 in your pocket, but if the final work is
not up to your expectations, it is not a bargain. Do not assume that the
Honda dealer will be the best final finish. They may be an authorized
dealer, but they may or may not have good body men and paint men.

Another option is to do nothing and trade it in. They will knock
something off the trade, but perhaps less than the lowest bid.

On Friday, March 13, 2015 at 5:01:29 PM UTC-4, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 3/13/2015 2:58 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote:

All collision shops were told the same 3 things:

- Damage occurred in a Home Depot parking lot
- Home Depot said to submit 2 estimates, they will pay the lower of the two
- The Home Depot Claims Department did not request, and does not have, pictures of the damage

$546 - Honda Dealer
$534 - Honda Dealer (See Note below)
$491 - Chevrolet Dealer
$485 - Local Collision Shop Chain (13 locations)
$479 - Independent Collision Shop
$456 - Independent Collision Shop

Note: The 2nd Honda dealer was the only collision shop to suggest the "paint-less repair" process to fix the damage. When I reminded him that it might be better for me if I was given an estimate for the more expensive old-school repair he said "Ah, get your lunch money first and then explore other options. No problem." He then provided an R&I repair estimate similar to all the rest.

I've just faxed the 2 Honda dealer estimates to Home Depot.


Take the money and then take the car to the shop that you think will do
the best job. You can put $90 in your pocket, but if the final work is
not up to your expectations, it is not a bargain. Do not assume that the
Honda dealer will be the best final finish. They may be an authorized
dealer, but they may or may not have good body men and paint men.


Thanks for the advice (seriously) but this is not my first rodeo. I've been dealing with Ins Co's and collision shops all my life. Deer strikes, accidents that were my fault, accidents that were not. I've even had a car reported "stolen" by a repair shop after they broke the front end suspension and then couldn't find parts to fix it. The "stolen" car found about 2 miles from the shop even though it was undriveable because they had taken the front suspension apart. These guys were good. Although I could never prove that they did it, the grill, bumper, headlights, etc. were all smashed. It looked as if a tow truck had backed into it, doing enough damage for the Ins Co to total the vehicle. Since a tow truck was the only way to move the vehicle from the shop to where it was found, it was a perfect plan on their part.. Wreck the car, tow it off of their property and then report it stolen, all because they could not fix it.

Trust me, no one was actually using a tow truck to steal a 15 year old 1966 Rambler Ambassador - yes, the Lay Down Rambler of Dilbert McClinton lore. ;-)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNZqWX4VNaI

Last year a storm-felled tree totaled my previous Ody. The Ins Co offered me $3300. I told them to try again and less than 24 hours later they came back with a $5200 offer, higher than any book value or on-line price I could find. That money went towards the replacement Ody that was damaged at Home Depot.

Another option is to do nothing and trade it in. They will knock
something off the trade, but perhaps less than the lowest bid.

I just bought this one in July...no plans to trade it in anytime soon.

I may investigate the paint-less repair option or I may do nothing and treat SWMBO to a couple of car payments to ease the pain of the car she bought yesterday.

BTW...here's the damage. This is what $500 worth a damage looks like...it's hard to tell, but there's a slight dent along with the scratches.

http://i440.photobucket.com/albums/q...psrgq1h9dk.jpg

On Fri, 13 Mar 2015 15:45:40 -0700 (PDT), DerbyDad03
wrote:

On Friday, March 13, 2015 at 5:01:29 PM UTC-4, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 3/13/2015 2:58 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote:

All collision shops were told the same 3 things:

- Damage occurred in a Home Depot parking lot
- Home Depot said to submit 2 estimates, they will pay the lower of the two
- The Home Depot Claims Department did not request, and does not have, pictures of the damage

$546 - Honda Dealer
$534 - Honda Dealer (See Note below)
$491 - Chevrolet Dealer
$485 - Local Collision Shop Chain (13 locations)
$479 - Independent Collision Shop
$456 - Independent Collision Shop

Note: The 2nd Honda dealer was the only collision shop to suggest the "paint-less repair" process to fix the damage. When I reminded him that it might be better for me if I was given an estimate for the more expensive old-school repair he said "Ah, get your lunch money first and then explore other options. No problem." He then provided an R&I repair estimate similar to all the rest.

I've just faxed the 2 Honda dealer estimates to Home Depot.


Take the money and then take the car to the shop that you think will do
the best job. You can put $90 in your pocket, but if the final work is
not up to your expectations, it is not a bargain. Do not assume that the
Honda dealer will be the best final finish. They may be an authorized
dealer, but they may or may not have good body men and paint men.


Thanks for the advice (seriously) but this is not my first rodeo. I've been dealing with Ins Co's and collision shops all my life. Deer strikes, accidents that were my fault, accidents that were not. I've even had a car reported "stolen" by a repair shop after they broke the front end suspension and then couldn't find parts to fix it. The "stolen" car found about 2 miles from the shop even though it was undriveable because they had taken the front suspension apart. These guys were good. Although I could never prove that they did it, the grill, bumper, headlights, etc. were all smashed. It looked as if a tow truck had backed into it, doing enough damage for the Ins Co to total the vehicle. Since a tow truck was the only way to move the vehicle from the shop to where it was found, it was a perfect plan on their part. Wreck the car, tow it off of their property and then report it stolen, all because they could not fix it.

Trust me, no one was actually using a tow truck to steal a 15 year old 1966 Rambler Ambassador - yes, the Lay Down Rambler of Dilbert McClinton lore. ;-)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNZqWX4VNaI

Last year a storm-felled tree totaled my previous Ody. The Ins Co offered me $3300. I told them to try again and less than 24 hours later they came back with a $5200 offer, higher than any book value or on-line price I could find. That money went towards the replacement Ody that was damaged at Home Depot.

Another option is to do nothing and trade it in. They will knock
something off the trade, but perhaps less than the lowest bid.

I just bought this one in July...no plans to trade it in anytime soon.

I may investigate the paint-less repair option or I may do nothing and treat SWMBO to a couple of car payments to ease the pain of the car she bought yesterday.

BTW...here's the damage. This is what $500 worth a damage looks like...it's hard to tell, but there's a slight dent along with the scratches.

http://i440.photobucket.com/albums/q...psrgq1h9dk.jpg

Buy some scratch filler, at Home Depot.

On 03/13/2015 03:45 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Friday, March 13, 2015 at 5:01:29 PM UTC-4, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 3/13/2015 2:58 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote:

All collision shops were told the same 3 things:

- Damage occurred in a Home Depot parking lot
- Home Depot said to submit 2 estimates, they will pay the lower of the two
- The Home Depot Claims Department did not request, and does not have, pictures of the damage

$546 - Honda Dealer
$534 - Honda Dealer (See Note below)
$491 - Chevrolet Dealer
$485 - Local Collision Shop Chain (13 locations)
$479 - Independent Collision Shop
$456 - Independent Collision Shop

Note: The 2nd Honda dealer was the only collision shop to suggest the "paint-less repair" process to fix the damage. When I reminded him that it might be better for me if I was given an estimate for the more expensive old-school repair he said "Ah, get your lunch money first and then explore other options. No problem." He then provided an R&I repair estimate similar to all the rest.

I've just faxed the 2 Honda dealer estimates to Home Depot.


Take the money and then take the car to the shop that you think will do
the best job. You can put $90 in your pocket, but if the final work is
not up to your expectations, it is not a bargain. Do not assume that the
Honda dealer will be the best final finish. They may be an authorized
dealer, but they may or may not have good body men and paint men.


Thanks for the advice (seriously) but this is not my first rodeo. I've been dealing with Ins Co's and collision shops all my life. Deer strikes, accidents that were my fault, accidents that were not. I've even had a car reported "stolen" by a repair shop after they broke the front end suspension and then couldn't find parts to fix it. The "stolen" car found about 2 miles from the shop even though it was undriveable because they had taken the front suspension apart. These guys were good. Although I could never prove that they did it, the grill, bumper, headlights, etc. were all smashed. It looked as if a tow truck had backed into it, doing enough damage for the Ins Co to total the vehicle. Since a tow truck was the only way to move the vehicle from the shop to where it was found, it was a perfect plan on their part. Wreck the car, tow it off of their property and then report it stolen, all because they could not fix it.

Trust me, no one was actually using a tow truck to steal a 15 year old 1966 Rambler Ambassador - yes, the Lay Down Rambler of Dilbert McClinton lore. ;-)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNZqWX4VNaI

Last year a storm-felled tree totaled my previous Ody. The Ins Co offered me $3300. I told them to try again and less than 24 hours later they came back with a $5200 offer, higher than any book value or on-line price I could find. That money went towards the replacement Ody that was damaged at Home Depot.

Another option is to do nothing and trade it in. They will knock
something off the trade, but perhaps less than the lowest bid.

I just bought this one in July...no plans to trade it in anytime soon.

I may investigate the paint-less repair option or I may do nothing and treat SWMBO to a couple of car payments to ease the pain of the car she bought yesterday.

BTW...here's the damage. This is what $500 worth a damage looks like...it's hard to tell, but there's a slight dent along with the scratches.

http://i440.photobucket.com/albums/q...psrgq1h9dk.jpg


No wonder insurance rates are what they are!


--
"Socialism is a philosophy of failure,the creed of ignorance, and the
gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery"
-Winston Churchill

On 3/13/15 5:45 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote:


http://i440.photobucket.com/albums/q...psrgq1h9dk.jpg


Man, I'd send them the quotes and tell them you'd settle for 500 bucks
on a Home Depot gift card! I bet they'd jump at that knowing they're
getting it all back. :-)


--

-MIKE-

"Playing is not something I do at night, it's my function in life"
--Elvin Jones (1927-2004)
--
http://mikedrums.com

---remove "DOT" ^^^^ to reply

On Friday, March 13, 2015 at 9:36:06 PM UTC-4, -MIKE- wrote:
On 3/13/15 5:45 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote:


http://i440.photobucket.com/albums/q...psrgq1h9dk.jpg


Man, I'd send them the quotes and tell them you'd settle for 500 bucks
on a Home Depot gift card! I bet they'd jump at that knowing they're
getting it all back. :-)



Why would I do that when they've already committed to sending me a check for the lowest of the 2 estimates that I submit?

On 3/13/15 9:41 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Friday, March 13, 2015 at 9:36:06 PM UTC-4, -MIKE- wrote:
On 3/13/15 5:45 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote:


http://i440.photobucket.com/albums/q...psrgq1h9dk.jpg


Man, I'd send them the quotes and tell them you'd settle for 500 bucks
on a Home Depot gift card! I bet they'd jump at that knowing they're
getting it all back. :-)



Why would I do that when they've already committed to sending me a check for the lowest of the 2 estimates that I submit?


Then go for $750!


--

-MIKE-

"Playing is not something I do at night, it's my function in life"
--Elvin Jones (1927-2004)
--
http://mikedrums.com

---remove "DOT" ^^^^ to reply

On 3/13/2015 5:01 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 3/13/2015 2:58 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote:

All collision shops were told the same 3 things:

- Damage occurred in a Home Depot parking lot
- Home Depot said to submit 2 estimates, they will pay the lower of
the two
- The Home Depot Claims Department did not request, and does not have,
pictures of the damage

$546 - Honda Dealer
$534 - Honda Dealer (See Note below)
$491 - Chevrolet Dealer
$485 - Local Collision Shop Chain (13 locations)
$479 - Independent Collision Shop
$456 - Independent Collision Shop

Note: The 2nd Honda dealer was the only collision shop to suggest the
"paint-less repair" process to fix the damage. When I reminded him
that it might be better for me if I was given an estimate for the more
expensive old-school repair he said "Ah, get your lunch money first
and then explore other options. No problem." He then provided an R&I
repair estimate similar to all the rest.

I've just faxed the 2 Honda dealer estimates to Home Depot.


Take the money and then take the car to the shop that you think will do
the best job. You can put $90 in your pocket, but if the final work is
not up to your expectations, it is not a bargain. Do not assume that the
Honda dealer will be the best final finish. They may be an authorized
dealer, but they may or may not have good body men and paint men.

Another option is to do nothing and trade it in. They will knock
something off the trade, but perhaps less than the lowest bid.

My experience is that the dealer is the worst place to bring the car.
Bring it to a good shop.



--
Jeff

On Fri, 13 Mar 2015 17:52:49 -0700, Doug Winterburn wrote:

BTW...here's the damage. This is what $500 worth a damage looks
like...it's hard to tell, but there's a slight dent along with the
scratches.

No wonder insurance rates are what they are!

We had an old Chevy Astro that got rear-ended at a stoplight. Needed a
new back bumper and the dent in the back door fixed. I don't remember
the exact numbers, but the low estimate was over $3000 and the most
optimistic estimate of the van's value was about $2700. We traded it
in :-).

The adjuster whose estimate I used spent about a half hour going over the
damage and waking out the estimate. I told him I had no intention of
fixing it and offered to pay him for his time. He refused, but said he
appreciated the offer - most say nothing and he never sees them again.
Guess where I'm going if I do want something fixed.

DerbyDad03 wrote:


Here are the 6 estimates that I received for the fender damage that
occurred in the Home Depot parking lot. The vehicle involved is a
Honda Odyssey.

All collision shops were told the same 3 things:

- Damage occurred in a Home Depot parking lot
- Home Depot said to submit 2 estimates, they will pay the lower of
the two
- The Home Depot Claims Department did not request, and does not
have, pictures of the damage

$546 - Honda Dealer
$534 - Honda Dealer (See Note below)
$491 - Chevrolet Dealer
$485 - Local Collision Shop Chain (13 locations)
$479 - Independent Collision Shop
$456 - Independent Collision Shop

Note: The 2nd Honda dealer was the only collision shop to suggest the
"paint-less repair" process to fix the damage. When I reminded him
that it might be better for me if I was given an estimate for the
more expensive old-school repair he said "Ah, get your lunch money
first and then explore other options. No problem." He then provided
an R&I repair estimate similar to all the rest.

I've just faxed the 2 Honda dealer estimates to Home Depot.

'Bout what I expected to see. All of the estimates withing $100 or so of
each other. That's a reasonable spread. Mox Nix on the matter of paintless
dent repair versus conventional body work. They're both going to give you
the same result, a warranty, and you'll be satisfied as long as the place
doing the work is professional (ethical and reliable). For some small dents
I send people to the PDR guys just so we don't have to break the e-coat on
the body part. That's a big plus. That said, for the small stuff that PDR
can do well, conventional body work tries very hard not to get into the
e-coat and if that can be accomplished, there's no advantage to PDR.

--

-Mike-

DerbyDad03 wrote:


BTW...here's the damage. This is what $500 worth a damage looks
like...it's hard to tell, but there's a slight dent along with the
scratches.

http://i440.photobucket.com/albums/q...psrgq1h9dk.jpg

Really hard to tell from the picture but it almost looks to me like the
clear coat is scratched - maybe deeply? If so, PDR is not the approach, but
then again the dealer would not have quoted PDR if that were the case. And
Yup - that's what $500 worth of damage looks like!

--

-Mike-

Mike Marlow wrote:
And Yup - that's what $500 worth of damage looks like!
If that's what $500 worth of damage looks like, I'd protect the metal
(from rust) and forget about it.

On 3/15/15 9:38 PM, Bill wrote:
Mike Marlow wrote:
And Yup - that's what $500 worth of damage looks like!
If that's what $500 worth of damage looks like, I'd protect the metal
(from rust) and forget about it.

What metal? :-)


--

-MIKE-

"Playing is not something I do at night, it's my function in life"
--Elvin Jones (1927-2004)
--
http://mikedrums.com

---remove "DOT" ^^^^ to reply

Bill wrote:
Mike Marlow wrote:
And Yup - that's what $500 worth of damage looks like!
If that's what $500 worth of damage looks like, I'd protect the metal
(from rust) and forget about it.

It's a sad story, but that's the way it is. It's not the fault of the
insurance companies or the body shops either - at least not to a large
degree. It's the fault of environmental concerns for one - that mandate
much more expensive approaches to body work. It's the fault of vehicle
owners to some degree, who look at damage as a revenue stream. Most of it
though, is really driven by the cost of doing business. Not all of it, but
most of it. There's lots of places to look to cast blame on the cost of
repairs today.

--

-Mike-

-MIKE- wrote:
On 3/15/15 9:38 PM, Bill wrote:
Mike Marlow wrote:
And Yup - that's what $500 worth of damage looks like!
If that's what $500 worth of damage looks like, I'd protect the metal
(from rust) and forget about it.

What metal? :-)

The thin substrate that lies just beneath the much thicker layer of paint...

--

-Mike-

Mike Marlow wrote:
-MIKE- wrote:
On 3/15/15 9:38 PM, Bill wrote:
Mike Marlow wrote:
And Yup - that's what $500 worth of damage looks like!
If that's what $500 worth of damage looks like, I'd protect the metal
(from rust) and forget about it.
What metal? :-)
The thin substrate that lies just beneath the much thicker layer of paint...

Yes, I'd buy a tiny bottle of "touch-up" paint for that. A car
dealership actually tried to charge me $25 for such a bottle once until
I "shared my thoughts" about the circumstances (it was following major
body work they did).

DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Friday, March 13, 2015 at 5:01:29 PM UTC-4, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 3/13/2015 2:58 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote:

All collision shops were told the same 3 things:

- Damage occurred in a Home Depot parking lot
- Home Depot said to submit 2 estimates, they will pay the lower of the two
- The Home Depot Claims Department did not request, and does not have,
pictures of the damage

$546 - Honda Dealer
$534 - Honda Dealer (See Note below)
$491 - Chevrolet Dealer
$485 - Local Collision Shop Chain (13 locations)
$479 - Independent Collision Shop
$456 - Independent Collision Shop

Note: The 2nd Honda dealer was the only collision shop to suggest the
"paint-less repair" process to fix the damage. When I reminded him that
it might be better for me if I was given an estimate for the more
expensive old-school repair he said "Ah, get your lunch money first and
then explore other options. No problem." He then provided an R&I
repair estimate similar to all the rest.

I've just faxed the 2 Honda dealer estimates to Home Depot.


Take the money and then take the car to the shop that you think will do
the best job. You can put $90 in your pocket, but if the final work is
not up to your expectations, it is not a bargain. Do not assume that the
Honda dealer will be the best final finish. They may be an authorized
dealer, but they may or may not have good body men and paint men.


Thanks for the advice (seriously) but this is not my first rodeo. I've
been dealing with Ins Co's and collision shops all my life. Deer strikes,
accidents that were my fault, accidents that were not. I've even had a
car reported "stolen" by a repair shop after they broke the front end
suspension and then couldn't find parts to fix it. The "stolen" car found
about 2 miles from the shop even though it was undriveable because they
had taken the front suspension apart. These guys were good. Although I
could never prove that they did it, the grill, bumper, headlights, etc.
were all smashed. It looked as if a tow truck had backed into it, doing
enough damage for the Ins Co to total the vehicle. Since a tow truck was
the only way to move the vehicle from the shop to where it was found, it
was a perfect plan on their part. Wreck the car, tow it off of their
property and then report it stolen, all because they could not fix it.

Trust me, no one was actually using a tow truck to steal a 15 year old
1966 Rambler Ambassador - yes, the Lay Down Rambler of Dilbert McClinton lore. ;-)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNZqWX4VNaI

Last year a storm-felled tree totaled my previous Ody. The Ins Co offered
me $3300. I told them to try again and less than 24 hours later they came
back with a $5200 offer, higher than any book value or on-line price I
could find. That money went towards the replacement Ody that was damaged at Home Depot.

Another option is to do nothing and trade it in. They will knock
something off the trade, but perhaps less than the lowest bid.

I just bought this one in July...no plans to trade it in anytime soon.

I may investigate the paint-less repair option or I may do nothing and
treat SWMBO to a couple of car payments to ease the pain of the car she bought yesterday.

BTW...here's the damage. This is what $500 worth a damage looks
like...it's hard to tell, but there's a slight dent along with the scratches.

http://i440.photobucket.com/albums/q...psrgq1h9dk.jpg

There are pro's that can repair dents inexpensively with out the need for
reprinting.

On 3/15/2015 10:57 PM, Leon wrote:
DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Friday, March 13, 2015 at 5:01:29 PM UTC-4, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 3/13/2015 2:58 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote:

All collision shops were told the same 3 things:

- Damage occurred in a Home Depot parking lot
- Home Depot said to submit 2 estimates, they will pay the lower of the two
- The Home Depot Claims Department did not request, and does not have,
pictures of the damage

$546 - Honda Dealer
$534 - Honda Dealer (See Note below)
$491 - Chevrolet Dealer
$485 - Local Collision Shop Chain (13 locations)
$479 - Independent Collision Shop
$456 - Independent Collision Shop

Note: The 2nd Honda dealer was the only collision shop to suggest the
"paint-less repair" process to fix the damage. When I reminded him that
it might be better for me if I was given an estimate for the more
expensive old-school repair he said "Ah, get your lunch money first and
then explore other options. No problem." He then provided an R&I
repair estimate similar to all the rest.

I've just faxed the 2 Honda dealer estimates to Home Depot.


Take the money and then take the car to the shop that you think will do
the best job. You can put $90 in your pocket, but if the final work is
not up to your expectations, it is not a bargain. Do not assume that the
Honda dealer will be the best final finish. They may be an authorized
dealer, but they may or may not have good body men and paint men.


Thanks for the advice (seriously) but this is not my first rodeo. I've
been dealing with Ins Co's and collision shops all my life. Deer strikes,
accidents that were my fault, accidents that were not. I've even had a
car reported "stolen" by a repair shop after they broke the front end
suspension and then couldn't find parts to fix it. The "stolen" car found
about 2 miles from the shop even though it was undriveable because they
had taken the front suspension apart. These guys were good. Although I
could never prove that they did it, the grill, bumper, headlights, etc.
were all smashed. It looked as if a tow truck had backed into it, doing
enough damage for the Ins Co to total the vehicle. Since a tow truck was
the only way to move the vehicle from the shop to where it was found, it
was a perfect plan on their part. Wreck the car, tow it off of their
property and then report it stolen, all because they could not fix it.

Trust me, no one was actually using a tow truck to steal a 15 year old
1966 Rambler Ambassador - yes, the Lay Down Rambler of Dilbert McClinton lore. ;-)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNZqWX4VNaI

Last year a storm-felled tree totaled my previous Ody. The Ins Co offered
me $3300. I told them to try again and less than 24 hours later they came
back with a $5200 offer, higher than any book value or on-line price I
could find. That money went towards the replacement Ody that was damaged at Home Depot.

Another option is to do nothing and trade it in. They will knock
something off the trade, but perhaps less than the lowest bid.

I just bought this one in July...no plans to trade it in anytime soon.

I may investigate the paint-less repair option or I may do nothing and
treat SWMBO to a couple of car payments to ease the pain of the car she bought yesterday.

BTW...here's the damage. This is what $500 worth a damage looks
like...it's hard to tell, but there's a slight dent along with the scratches.

http://i440.photobucket.com/albums/q...psrgq1h9dk.jpg

There are pro's that can repair dents inexpensively with out the need for
reprinting.

Repainting

On Mon, 16 Mar 2015 08:40:05 -0500, Leon lcb11211@swbelldotnet
wrote:

On 3/15/2015 10:57 PM, Leon wrote:
DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Friday, March 13, 2015 at 5:01:29 PM UTC-4, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 3/13/2015 2:58 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote:

All collision shops were told the same 3 things:

- Damage occurred in a Home Depot parking lot
- Home Depot said to submit 2 estimates, they will pay the lower of the two
- The Home Depot Claims Department did not request, and does not have,
pictures of the damage

$546 - Honda Dealer
$534 - Honda Dealer (See Note below)
$491 - Chevrolet Dealer
$485 - Local Collision Shop Chain (13 locations)
$479 - Independent Collision Shop
$456 - Independent Collision Shop

Note: The 2nd Honda dealer was the only collision shop to suggest the
"paint-less repair" process to fix the damage. When I reminded him that
it might be better for me if I was given an estimate for the more
expensive old-school repair he said "Ah, get your lunch money first and
then explore other options. No problem." He then provided an R&I
repair estimate similar to all the rest.

I've just faxed the 2 Honda dealer estimates to Home Depot.


Take the money and then take the car to the shop that you think will do
the best job. You can put $90 in your pocket, but if the final work is
not up to your expectations, it is not a bargain. Do not assume that the
Honda dealer will be the best final finish. They may be an authorized
dealer, but they may or may not have good body men and paint men.


Thanks for the advice (seriously) but this is not my first rodeo. I've
been dealing with Ins Co's and collision shops all my life. Deer strikes,
accidents that were my fault, accidents that were not. I've even had a
car reported "stolen" by a repair shop after they broke the front end
suspension and then couldn't find parts to fix it. The "stolen" car found
about 2 miles from the shop even though it was undriveable because they
had taken the front suspension apart. These guys were good. Although I
could never prove that they did it, the grill, bumper, headlights, etc.
were all smashed. It looked as if a tow truck had backed into it, doing
enough damage for the Ins Co to total the vehicle. Since a tow truck was
the only way to move the vehicle from the shop to where it was found, it
was a perfect plan on their part. Wreck the car, tow it off of their
property and then report it stolen, all because they could not fix it.

Trust me, no one was actually using a tow truck to steal a 15 year old
1966 Rambler Ambassador - yes, the Lay Down Rambler of Dilbert McClinton lore. ;-)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNZqWX4VNaI

Last year a storm-felled tree totaled my previous Ody. The Ins Co offered
me $3300. I told them to try again and less than 24 hours later they came
back with a $5200 offer, higher than any book value or on-line price I
could find. That money went towards the replacement Ody that was damaged at Home Depot.

Another option is to do nothing and trade it in. They will knock
something off the trade, but perhaps less than the lowest bid.

I just bought this one in July...no plans to trade it in anytime soon.

I may investigate the paint-less repair option or I may do nothing and
treat SWMBO to a couple of car payments to ease the pain of the car she bought yesterday.

BTW...here's the damage. This is what $500 worth a damage looks
like...it's hard to tell, but there's a slight dent along with the scratches.

http://i440.photobucket.com/albums/q...psrgq1h9dk.jpg

There are pro's that can repair dents inexpensively with out the need for
reprinting.

Repainting

As long as the paint is intact. If it's scratched or cracked, all
bets are off.

wrote:
On Mon, 16 Mar 2015 08:40:05 -0500, Leon lcb11211@swbelldotnet
wrote:

On 3/15/2015 10:57 PM, Leon wrote:
DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Friday, March 13, 2015 at 5:01:29 PM UTC-4, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 3/13/2015 2:58 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote:

All collision shops were told the same 3 things:

- Damage occurred in a Home Depot parking lot
- Home Depot said to submit 2 estimates, they will pay the lower of the two
- The Home Depot Claims Department did not request, and does not have,
pictures of the damage

$546 - Honda Dealer
$534 - Honda Dealer (See Note below)
$491 - Chevrolet Dealer
$485 - Local Collision Shop Chain (13 locations)
$479 - Independent Collision Shop
$456 - Independent Collision Shop

Note: The 2nd Honda dealer was the only collision shop to suggest the
"paint-less repair" process to fix the damage. When I reminded him that
it might be better for me if I was given an estimate for the more
expensive old-school repair he said "Ah, get your lunch money first and
then explore other options. No problem." He then provided an R&I
repair estimate similar to all the rest.

I've just faxed the 2 Honda dealer estimates to Home Depot.


Take the money and then take the car to the shop that you think will do
the best job. You can put $90 in your pocket, but if the final work is
not up to your expectations, it is not a bargain. Do not assume that the
Honda dealer will be the best final finish. They may be an authorized
dealer, but they may or may not have good body men and paint men.


Thanks for the advice (seriously) but this is not my first rodeo. I've
been dealing with Ins Co's and collision shops all my life. Deer strikes,
accidents that were my fault, accidents that were not. I've even had a
car reported "stolen" by a repair shop after they broke the front end
suspension and then couldn't find parts to fix it. The "stolen" car found
about 2 miles from the shop even though it was undriveable because they
had taken the front suspension apart. These guys were good. Although I
could never prove that they did it, the grill, bumper, headlights, etc.
were all smashed. It looked as if a tow truck had backed into it, doing
enough damage for the Ins Co to total the vehicle. Since a tow truck was
the only way to move the vehicle from the shop to where it was found, it
was a perfect plan on their part. Wreck the car, tow it off of their
property and then report it stolen, all because they could not fix it.

Trust me, no one was actually using a tow truck to steal a 15 year old
1966 Rambler Ambassador - yes, the Lay Down Rambler of Dilbert McClinton lore. ;-)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNZqWX4VNaI

Last year a storm-felled tree totaled my previous Ody. The Ins Co offered
me $3300. I told them to try again and less than 24 hours later they came
back with a $5200 offer, higher than any book value or on-line price I
could find. That money went towards the replacement Ody that was damaged at Home Depot.

Another option is to do nothing and trade it in. They will knock
something off the trade, but perhaps less than the lowest bid.

I just bought this one in July...no plans to trade it in anytime soon.

I may investigate the paint-less repair option or I may do nothing and
treat SWMBO to a couple of car payments to ease the pain of the car
she bought yesterday.

BTW...here's the damage. This is what $500 worth a damage looks
like...it's hard to tell, but there's a slight dent along with the scratches.

http://i440.photobucket.com/albums/q...psrgq1h9dk.jpg

There are pro's that can repair dents inexpensively with out the need for
reprinting.

Repainting

As long as the paint is intact. If it's scratched or cracked, all
bets are off.

Scratches are ok if not through to the metal, they can be rubber or
polished out.

On Tuesday, March 10, 2015 at 12:32:46 AM UTC-4, wrote:
As a contractor, my tools are usually dropped, fall off roofs and ladders, have heavy things fall on them, get left out in the rain, get stolen, misplaced and about 10 other things occur before I have to worry about warranty issues.

However, I bought a pair of ultra compact 12v Li drills about 4 or 5 years ago when they first came out. I bought them to use on my kitchen work as they work great to drive tiny hinge screws, drill the holes for pulls, and they are just dandy inside a cabinet when replacing or adjusting drawer hardware. Both we $99 with on battery each, and a charger. They are fine little drills.

But the batteries finally died. I took the to the local HD as instructed and had a really bad time. The "tool guy" had to look at them, make his determination, write a report on his findings and then make a suggestion as to what repairs MIGHT be authorized. He told me that it could take him a month in the store to get to them, and if they were found to be in warranty, it could take another month to have it certified by the national repair depot, and then if it was the batteries ONLY, then they could possibly ship new ones to me in another 10 days to 2 weeks after that. So the whole process could take as much as 2 1/2 months! I was shocked. The tool guy did a cursory inspection and agreed that when new batteries were put in the old drills they both worked fine. When the old batteries were put in a new test charger, they showed as defective. However, he determined the issue needed more research on his part. (Clever man... I thought for a moment I was at the monkey cage at the zoo...)

I called the national number to tell them what was going on. They told me that they were tired of being blamed for the long wait times for warranty resolution and they were more tired of people calling to yell at them for store related issues. With their help they told me how and what to say (their corporate buzz words) to the store manager to get the project off center. It worked!

From start to finish of this episode I had two new batteries in my hands in 3 1/2 weeks. But I wasn't through.

The batteries came with a stern warning to register them within 90 days or there would be no further battery warranty. I tried several times to register, and then contacted them by email as instructed on their website. They didn't realize that you couldn't access their registration screens after the tool and its parts were registered. The reason was that anyone could change their serial numbers to tools found in pawn shops, etc. without having bought the tool new. So my CS email response was for me to simply go the website and register.

After a while, I gave up and called national customer service again. They lady on the other end of the phone sighed pretty heavily and told me that I couldn't register them myself and a phone call was required. On a previously registered tool only Ridgid CS could modify any information. So today, she took my info over the phone and my account was updated within the half hour.

So the moral is, register the tools correctly, know that they will honor their warranty in some cases, and know you will have to work for it as well as be patient. That being said, HD/Ridgid are the only guys that will warrant tools for more than a few months (most not at all) for contractor use.

Hey... at least it worked, and I have my two favorite mini drills back!

Robert

I'm curious as to why they replaced the batteries under warranty. If I understand the terms of the warranty correctly, wouldn't "dead batteries" after 4 -5 years of use be excluded due to the "normal wear and tear" clause?

Here are a few of excerpts from their warranty website.

https://www.ridgid.com/us/en/full-lifetime-warranty

*** Begin Included Text ***

What is Covered

RIDGID tools are warranted to be free of material and workmanship defects.

What is Not Covered

Failures due to misuse, abuse or normal wear and tear are not covered by this warranty.

DEFECTS IN MATERIALS OR WORKMANSHIP:

It is our experience that a product that fails prematurely due to a manufacturing defect in materials or workmanship, will generally do so very early in the products life cycle, often the first or second time the product is used. When returned for inspection, these products are generally found to still be in like new condition and show very little signs of use. It is uncommon for a product that was manufactured with a defect, to survive under normal use for any extended period of time. Products that are returned for warranty inspection after months or years of continuous reliable service are rarely found to be defective. The most common demand for service is the result of normal wear and tear issues, which are not considered to be a defect in materials or workmanship.

*** End Included Text ***

Can a dead battery really be considered "defective" after 4-5 years of "continuous reliable service"?